Cuticle remover and process of removing cuticle



Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED PATENT or Flee to .TheEg-yptianLacquer Manufacturing Company, New'ork, Y., a corporation of'New Jersey No Drawing. implication' Novemberl zl,31935, .Scriali'No. 50,995

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to cuticle removers and processes of removing cuticle; and it comprises, as new products for removing cuticle from the nails during the manicuring operation, certain low molecular acid amides, usually employed in the form of their aqueous solutions, these acid amides having the property of softening and dissolving cuticle; and it also comprises processes of removing cuticle wherein one of said new products is applied to cuticle in order to soften and dissolve the same and the softened cuticle is then removed; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

One important operation in the art of mani- 5 curing is the removal of cuticle from the nails. This operation has always been time-consuming and painful. Prior methods have been disadvantageous from the standpoint of both the manicurist as well as the customer. Purely mechani- 20 cal methods of removing cuticle havebeen largely superseded by chemical methods owing to the difiiculties of manipulation and the time consumed in the mechanical method. Apparently the only chemicals which have been proposed as 5 cuticle removers in the prior art are the caustic alkalis. These removers are disadvantageous for several reasons.

While caustic alkalis soften the cuticle they do so only slowly when employed in concentra- 30 tions which are safe to use. It is necessary in this method to soften the cuticle by soaking the hands in hot water, which is time consuming. It is almost impossible to prevent abrasions or rifts of the skin during the later operations of remov- 35 ing the cuticle and, if the caustic alkali enters these abrasions, the result is very painful. Moreover caustic alkalis are difiicult to entirely remove from the nail, and if traces are left, this impairs the adhesion of the nail lacquer which is applied 40 subsequently, especially near the root of the nail. It should also be mentioned that caustic alkalis are among the most corrosive of chemicals, and, if accidentally spilled, are likely to cause important damage. In view of these many important 45 disadvantages of the use of caustic alkalis it is evident that the only reason they are being employed is on account of the prior lack of knowledge of satisfactory cuticle removers.

It has now been found that the low molecular 50 acid amides have the characteristic property of dissolving and softening cuticle when applied thereto in liquid form or in the form of their solutions. The activity of these compounds decreases to some extent with increase of molecular 55 weight. Formamide is by far the most active,

even in low concentrations, and acetamide is next. Propionamide is least active of these three. The term low molecular acid amides as used in the claims is intended to include all such compounds.

It is believed that other low molecular acid amides 5 will be sufficiently active to be useful. These amides are all highly soluble in both water and alcohol, the aqueous solutions being the preferable ones for cuticle removers.

Formamide, being the only acid amide of the 10 aliphatic acid series, which is liquid at ordinary temperatures, can be applied as a pure liquid but its action is sufficiently rapid when applied in the form of a dilute aqueous solution and I have found that solutions ranging in concentrations from about 40 to 60 per cent by weight are actually more active than the pure material, as the water acts as a swelling agent on the cuticle.

In removing the cuticle in accordance with this invention, it is usually advantageous to soak the finger tips in hot water for a short time before applying the cuticle removers, in order to soften the cuticles before applying my improved cuticle remover. This soaking operation may be dispensed with, however, if a little additional time is allowed for the remover to act. The acid amide is then applied to the cuticle and a short time is allowed for the action of the remover to take place. After this the cuticle is removed by a gentle rubbing or wiping action with the usual manicure implement.

In a specific example of this invention an aqueous solution of formamide was made up which contained about 50 per cent by weight of formamide. After soaking the finger tips in hot water for a few minutes, the solution of formamide was applied to the cuticle. After a short time it was noted that the desired action had taken place on the cuticle. The residue of the remover was then washed off.

The advantages of using the acid amides of the present invention over the caustic alkalis of the prior art are that the amides are non-toxic, they cause no pain in open sores or abrasions and do not cause damage if accidentally spilled on other material.

Various modifications may be made in the details mentioned above without departing from the scope of the present invention. The cuticle removers of this invention can be applied for the removal of cuticle in general, that is, for the removal of the epidermis or scarf-skin. Thus, the method is equally applicable to the removal of cuticle from finger nails and toe nails. Various concentrations of the solutions of acid amides may be employed. Thus, formamide is efiective in aqueous solution in concentrations as low as about 10 per cent by weight. The acid amides 'of the present invention can be mixed with various other materials which may or may not assist in the removal of cuticle. For example glycerine or other wetting agents may be added to the solutions and, of course, these solutions may be perfumed if desired. Other modifications which fall within the scope of the following claims will be immediately evident to those skilled in the art.

My invention may also be applied to other uses, where stain or the like is desired to be removed, as in the case of raw hides, etc.

I claim:

1. As a new cuticle remover, an amide of the low-molecular aliphatic acids.

2. As a new cuticle remover, a solution of an 3. As a new cuticle remover, a concentrated aqueous solution of an amide of the low-molecular aliphatic acids.

4. As a new cuticle remover, an aqueous solution of formamide ranging in concentration from about 40 to 60 per cent by weight.

DAGFINN G. THUES EN. 

